Unexpected Help
by YoungestCullen8
Summary: Derek's house is being remodeled by someone he doesn't know. Then there's a sudden change when he's attacked again. He gets help from someone odd, a Hunter. R&R
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:** I love this series so I decided to take my hand at writing about it.

_Disclaimer:_ I don't own these characters.

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Derek Hale sat on the stair case and watched as the young woman refurbished his house.

He hadn't called or said anything to anyone about his dilapidated house but one day she showed up and started working on his house. She never said a word to him. They just went about their business. Derek attempted to work out in his living room but currently she was working in there. He resigned himself to sitting on the stair case and watching her.

There was something about her he couldn't place. From the top of her bronze head to the bottom of her work boots, there was something familiar. When she turned her eyes on him, he saw bottomless depths of green. And once again there was something there he couldn't quite place.

His front door opened as Scott McCall and his friend Stiles Stilinski walked into his house. They looked at him in confusion before venturing over. They were as shocked as he was when he saw the woman fixing up his house.

"Since when do you allow anyone in your house?" Stiles asked.

Derek looked at him. "You're here, aren't you?"

"Good point."

Scott looked at him. "Everything okay?"

"Does it look like it's okay? My house is being redone for no apparent reason."

"Do you even know her name?"

"I haven't asked."

Stiles looked at him in shock. "There's a gorgeous woman in your house, fixing it up no less, and you don't even know her name? Are you crazy?"

"I don't think there's a reason for me knowing her name. She's just fixing my house." Derek growled.

"Look at her, Derek. She's gorgeous."

"You've said that, Stiles." Scott said.

"Look at her."

All three guys turned to look at the woman standing on a ladder. She jumped down and looked up. Extending one leg, she kneeled and mixed whatever she had in the bucket below her. After a few moments, she knotted her long hair at the base of her neck, picked up her bucket and scaled the ladder. Balancing the bucket on the top, she reached up and began messing with the ceiling again. Her shirt rode up, exposing lovely brown skin.

"If you don't know the name to that, then something's wrong with you."

"Because of our condition, it's not a smart idea to like new people who we can't protect." Derek said.

Stiles looked at the two then moved into the living room. He tapped the young woman on the side. She turned and looked at him. "Hi, how are you? My name's Stiles. You're working on my friend's house, Derek Hale's his name. And beside him my best friend Scott McCall." She stared at him for a moment. "My friend….this is his house." He turned around and pointed at Derek.

"Oh, you're talking about him." As she spoke her hands moved at the same time.

The guys looked at each other for a moment in shock. Stiles turned back around. "You're deaf?" He pointed to his ear. She nodded, a small smile playing about her face. "How can you work on a house if you're deaf?"

She smiled. "I feel the vibrations in the floor as he moves about the house. That's how I know where he is and where I need to be. If you don't mind, I need to get this up before it dries in the bucket."

He nodded and allowed her to get back to work. He stopped in front of the other two. Shock was still evident as he looked back at them, then at her, and back at them. When he made eye contact with them, he stuttered. "She's deaf."

Scott's response was raised eyebrows. Derek stood and leaned against the rails. She was deaf and working in a werewolf's house. She was very brave, if not stupid. There was something he still couldn't place. He had seen her somewhere before, but where?

"Derek, I haven't seen the Alpha or heard from him." Scott said.

"We have to keep looking. He'll be coming around later and he's looking for you." He replied.

"I'm not sure I can find him at this moment."

"You have to find him."

"Just because you want me in his pack?"

"He wants you in his pack. You have to face it."

"All you want is for me to kill the Alpha."

"We have to fight him together or we both die."

There was a crash as the bucket fell off the ladder. Stiles winced as a pile of goo spread quickly through the cracks. "Well, that's unfortunate. She was doing so good too."

"Go help her, smart one." Derek scolded. Stiles didn't waste any time as he went to help. "We'll talk more of this when no one else is around."

"Stiles won't say anything and you heard him. That girl is deaf." Scott argued.

"She can still lip read."

Scott shook his head at the only other werewolf he knew. He headed towards the door. Stiles rubbed his hands on a rag and followed his friend out.

Derek looked at the woman mopping up the mess she made in his living room. He sighed and walked over to her. She looked up at him as he kneeled to help.

"I'm sorry. I bumped the bucket and it fell." Her voice was muffled because she couldn't hear.

"Don't worry about it. Accidents happen." He looked up over his head at the patched roof. "It looks good."

"Thanks, but it's not finished. I still have a little more to go before I start on the electricity. The plumbing will be later."

"Why are you doing this?"

"I like restoring old houses. Nothing seems more fit than allowing a new owner to see a refinished house." She looked up at him again. "I'll get out of your hair and let you do whatever. I got to go to town anyway." She got her things together and walked out of the house.

Derek looked around at the work she had already done. It was great work and he figured it would only get better as she continued working on it.


	2. Chapter 2

Derek woke to someone breaking into his house. It was early in the morning and he was used to being alone if he wasn't with Scott.

Speaking of Scott, he had left him hours before at the mall where he should never have gone but had. The newbie was still trying to balance his new life with his school and social lives. He was having a fairly hard time but that was to be expected. Still, he shouldn't have left him alone.

He rolled out of his new bed and padded silently to the top of the staircase. He crouched low so no one could see him. It was the same hunter who had taken a taser to him. He was still sore about that, not to mention the currents had left deep bruising on him.

She was looking around his house obviously trying to find him. As she spoke she tried to lure him out. He wasn't falling for that again. He moved to the rail and looked over it.

A bullet ricocheted off the wall above his head. He dug his heels in and jumped to the ground floor. He took off running, but was sideswiped hard into the closet. He attempted to snarl but a hand clamped around his throat and another around his mouth. The person who had saved him smelled familiar but they were behind him so he couldn't see who it was.

It went silent in the main part of his house. The nameless person moved silently from behind him to check out the interior. Luckily this closet held someone his stuff he had hidden for moments like this. He pulled on a shirt and some shoes. His jacket was upstairs and there was no way he was going upstairs to get it.

His savior came back and motioned him out the door. Even in the dim light of his house, he should have been able to see who the person was but he couldn't. He recognized the eyes but couldn't place them. The person nodded towards the back door.

They moved quietly towards the door. As they unclipped the latch, a gun went off. The other person turned and fired a few rounds back at them as he thrust the door. Derek hit the ground hard. He didn't even turn around to see if the person was behind him as he took off through the forest. Gunshots rang clear behind him.

When he reached the edge of the brook, he stopped and flopped down. There was no way any of them could have followed him this far. He was too fast for them to keep up. He laid back and stared at the foliage above him. This was not happening. Twice in too many days had he been attacked in his own home, not to mention he had been shot before that. This was getting ridiculous.

Something dark dropped out of the tree and stalked towards him. He was in a crouch instantly watching as the figure walked towards him. There was no scent because they were smart and downwind from him. No sound was made from the footsteps. He couldn't figure out who it was. Not many creatures could walk that silently around him. His hearing was ten times better than normal and he could always tell when someone was coming after him.

He growled when the person was on him. The hood went back and the mask came off, revealing someone he had just met.

"You?" he asked incredulously. "You're the one who saved me? But you're just a house flipper." She walked over to him and placed her hand on his throat. He figured it was because it was dark and she couldn't read his lips. So he repeated everything.

She smiled. "My name is Sam and I only flip houses as my day job."

"So at night, you protect werewolves?"

"Not here. Is there any place we can go where we won't be heard?"

"Yeah, come on." He took her hand and led her through the woods.

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Scott opened the door and Stiles walked through.

"What's going on?" the other boy asked.

"Shh. Don't wake my mom." He led the other boy into the backyard.

"Now I really want to know what's going on. Flipper girl is here." Stiles said.

"Listen up." Derek said. He crossed his arms and sat back on his heels.

"My name's Sam and I came here to stop the Argents from hunting you." Sam said as he hands also moved in time with her speech. "When I was thirteen, the Hunters came into my town and wiped out the resident werewolves living there. We were at peace with them and many were my friends. I was staying at one's house when it was set on fire. I got out but an explosion burst my eardrums and I lost my hearing. The person behind that attack was Kate Argent."

Scott was once again in shock. "Allison's aunt did this to you?" Sam nodded then he turned his attention to Derek. "She killed your family too."

Derek nodded. "See how dangerous they are? They attacked a normal girl for living with a werewolf family."

"I'm not angry about me. I can live with being deaf. It's my friends that I want to avenge. They didn't harm anyone. Ever." Her hands smacked together for emphasis.

"What are we going to do?" Stiles asked.

Derek looked at the Hunter. "Are you staying around here?"

"Yes. I got a place on the north side of town."

"That settles it. We'll reconvene this later. Right now everyone needs to get some sleep."

"When will this all take place?" Scott asked.

"I'll let you know. " Derek took Sam's hand and led her from the backyard.

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"Here we are."

Derek looked around the small house closest to the woods. If he knew, she had walked the entire way to his house. She knew the woods and that meant she had grown up around here.

"It's not much but it was my parents." Sam moved around him and into the kitchen.

He looked around the small living room and noticed a few things. One, she was very neat, probably because she didn't have much. The living room led to a small dining room which led to the kitchen. That's where Sam was now. She was putting a kettle on the stove then turned around and pulled two mugs out of the cabinet. She faced him when she was done.

"This is really small." He said.

"I told you it wasn't much. We didn't have much money but we weren't poor." She replied. "I put some tea on. Would you like some?"

"Please." She smiled and turned around. He had to wait until she faced him before he could speak again. "Why have you just now made yourself known?"

"Because of Scott. I felt it when he first changed. Not to mention he's not very good at concealing himself."

"He's a pup. Of course he's not able to." He stopped when she looked at him. "I spoke too fast didn't I?" She nodded slightly. "He's new to this existence so of course he's not able to conceal himself. How do you know all this?"

"Let's just say I have a heightened sense." The kettle began to whistle. She turned before he could say anything and poured two cups. "You're more than welcome to stay here for a bit. At least until Argent leaves."

"She won't leave. She's too hot to do that. She shot me the other day." Before he even got it out of his mouth, she was taking his arm and rolling up his sleeve. She ran her fingers over the unmarked skin. Blue lines showed. "What are you doing?"

She didn't answer but a warm feeling coursed through his veins. It was like a purifying agent. His veins turned from blackish blue to their normal hue. When she finished, she looked up at him. He was in a mixture of shock and incredulity.

"What was that?" he asked.

"I'm not sure but I've been able to do it since I was a kid." She turned to grab her mug and ventured into the living room. "I can run by your house tomorrow and get your clothes. It's probably not wise for you to do it."

"Maybe not."

She tilted her head when he grew silent. "What's wrong?"

"Why are you so nice to me?"

"Everyone needs someone to be nice to them on occasion. Everett, the friend I was staying with the night I went deaf, was my only friend."

She said that so sadly, it tugged at his heartstrings. "I didn't know that."

"Not many people do."

Derek looked at the clock on the wall. "It's late and you look tired."

"I only have one bedroom."

"It's fine. I'll sleep out here."

She shook her head roughly, bronze hair flying every which way. "The bed is a king size one. You'll share with me."

He frowned. "No, I'll sleep out here."

"Don't argue with me."

He heard an inflection in her voice that he figured he better listen to. She jumped up and motioned for him to follow.


	3. Chapter 3

Author's Note: Since I just added this story hours ago (the date is June 28, by the way), it has gotten very good responses. So here's Derek's companion. I hope you all enjoy this. I enjoy writing it. This story has just taken a mind of its own. I never thought I'd post it. It was in my stories archive for two days. Anyway, I'll shut up now. Enjoy this chapter.

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Sunlight blazed through the window. The curtains weren't much protection since the bedroom window faced the east and that's where the sun was coming up.

Derek winced at the light and covered his face with his arm. He attempted to shift onto his side but something weighed him down. At first he thought it was someone trying to kill him. When he opened his eyes, he saw Sam's rusty head on his shoulder. How the girl had roped him into sleeping in the same bed, he'd never know.

When he agreed to the arrangement, she had put many pillows between them to make sure they both had their own sides of the bed. As he looked around, he noticed not only had he moved to the center, she had as well. Her arm was thrown across his stomach and his shirt was fisted in her hand.

She was warm, he noticed. He didn't know if it was because of what she could do or if she was just naturally warm. He shifted again. This time she snuggled closer. He snorted. He wasn't sure if it was out of derision or because he was laughing.

He managed to slip free. After watching her sleep for a moment, he ventured into the kitchen. It was full of food. How could a single woman keep a place full of food? Then he remembered she was a flipper and made good money on that. He pulled eggs, bacon, and ham from the fridge and found the pots in the cabinet. There was coffee in the other cabinet and he set that to brewing.

As he was cooking there was a knock at the door. Not wanting to wake Sam, he went to answer it. Scott and Stiles stood on the other side of the door. He left the door open and went back into the kitchen, shutting the bedroom door as he passed it.

"She doesn't have much." Stiles admonished as he walked through the living room. Scott looked at him. "What?"

"She's a single girl living alone. Of course she wouldn't have much." He replied. He ventured into the kitchen where Derek was cooking. "Since when do you cook?"

"Since I have things to cook with. Sit down." The boys didn't argue. "I'll be staying here for a bit."

"How long's for a bit?" Stiles asked. Both guys looked at him. "Alright. I get it. Until the Hunters leave."

"If the Hunters leave that means Allison leaves as well." Scott said.

"You knew it would happen eventually." Derek said.

"Not this soon. She's only been here a month. I haven't got to spend enough time with her."

"It's the price we have to pay."

"Do you not have a heart?"

"Hey." They all looked at the doorway. Sam was standing there in a pair of pajama pants and a tank top. Her hair had been pulled up in a loose ponytail. She rubbed her eyes as she padded into the kitchen. She smiled when she saw all the food cooking. "I see you raided my cabinets."

"We needed food." Derek replied. He could feel her moving around behind him. She got dangerously close to the frying pan and he grabbed her before she bumped against it. She looked up at him from where he had pulled her against him. "You almost hit the frying pan."

She looked down at the stove. "I felt the heat but I didn't know I was that close. Thanks."

"I think we're repaid."

She laughed. "I doubt that. I saved your life. You saving me from a burn doesn't classify as saving my life."

Derek smiled and Stiles caught it.

"You actually can smile." He said.

"Shut up." He pulled a plate from over Sam's head and put food on it. She looked at him when he handed it to her. "You don't eat enough."

"Did you make enough for everyone?" she asked as she sat down.

"Yes. I had a feeling these two would show up before school."

Scott, who had gotten up, ventured back around Derek and handed her a cup of coffee. He smiled when she tilted her head. Soon they were all seated around the table like a family would. Derek sat beside her and it made it feel like she was talking to Everett once again. She checked the clock on the stove and nearly choked on her eggs.

"Are you okay?" Scott asked. His eyes widened when she slapped Derek in the back. "Okay?"

"Why didn't you wake me up?" she demanded, hands flying quickly in agitation.

"You needed to sleep so I let you. What's the problem?" Derek asked. He was confused. They had been up until about four and it was only seven now. He didn't think three hours of sleep was quite enough for a young woman to be going on. Hell, his sister had had a hard time getting out of bed with eight hours.

"I have to be at work."

Now he was really confused. "It's my house. You don't have to be there so early." She didn't hear him because, hey, she was deaf and had left the room.

"You better catch her or she'll have your house in flames." Stiles said. Scott stabbed him with his fork.

"She won't do that." Derek got up and followed her out of the room. She was already dressed and in the bathroom brushing her teeth. "It's my house. You don't have to be there so early."

"The earlier I get there, the faster I can get done with the roof. Plus I have supplies coming in that I need to pick up." She replied.

He couldn't tell, but he swore the deaf accent (I couldn't think of any way to describe it) deepened as she grew frustrated. "I'll pick them up."

"No!" It was an adamant answer he shut up. "You're in danger. I am not letting you do something like this so you can help me out. You stay here."

Derek frowned. "You're ordering me around."

"Let me put it this way. If you don't, I will burn your house down on purpose."

This time he scowled. "You're a minx."

She smiled as she grabbed her notebook. "It's better than being a werewolf." She stopped in the kitchen door on her way out. "You boys need a ride?"

"No. Stiles drove. Thanks though." Scott replied. "Oh, and thanks for breakfast."

"You're welcome here any time. I'll be back later this afternoon." She smacked the doorframe and walked out the front door.

Scott and Stiles looked at Derek then. He was still watching the front door as if she would miraculously walk back through it.

"So….want to explain?" Stiles asked.

Derek looked back at him. "No."

"Are you planning on listening to her? She is a former Hunter after all. How else would she know the back woods like she does?" Scott said.

"She grew up here. She was one of Laura's friends."

"You remember her?" Derek nodded. "How long were they friends?"

"Laura's senior year. They met at a party she went to. I vaguely remember but she was deaf then too. She had moved here during the summer and was starting out as a new student."

"So she was around when your family was killed?"

"Yeah. My guess would be she was here then for the same thing she's here for now; she's here for Kate Argent."

"What are you going to do?" Stiles asked.

"I'm going to help her if I can."

"What about the Alpha?" Scott asked.

"I'll find out if she knows him. For now, you two need to get to school."

Scott and Stiles were a little nervous about leaving him when he had a bounty on his head, but they did as he asked. Derek was left to his thoughts.


	4. Chapter 4

Sam stood on the ladder again. She had finished the roof and was now installing the ceiling to the downstairs. It made her feel good to finish an important job. Everett had told her finishing jobs were important. Then again he did live in a Victorian house with his entire family, all thirteen of them.

Her heart grew heavy at the thought of her friend. The night the fire happened was still in her mind. She could still feel the heat of the flames brushing against her skin as she tried to get out of the second floor bedroom. Everett had knocked the window out and thrown her from it. He tried to get out himself but the propane tank on the deck exploded, taking with it that portion and half of the other part of the house with it. Everett had been thrown from the house.

Glass has rained down, some even embedding in Sam's back. By that time her head was ringing, unbeknownst to her that she had gone deaf. At the hospital she had found out besides the loss of hearing, she had scars from where some of the glass had ripped chunks of her skin out.

After that, her father had decided to move. So they moved to Beacon Hills. She met Derek's sister her first day in town. She had been in the grocery store with her dad when they had met by chance. Laura Hale was a good girl and had been a good friend while they had been seniors in high school. Sam had met Derek once before their chance meeting when she showed up to his house to refurbish it.

Sam stepped off the ladder as she continued looking up at her work. She enjoyed every minute of it. After she had gone to college, she had come back as a trio of carpenter, electrician and plumber. It felt good to be self-employed. She got to pick her own hours. Most days she started at eight and was finished by five. That was one of the reasons she had snapped at Derek this morning. He didn't work so he didn't understand what she was going through.

Something in the air around her changed. Her skin prickled as her senses went on high alert. She swung, pointing a retractable knight stick in the direction the disturbance was coming from.

Derek raised his hands in defeat, a white bag hanging from one of them. "I come in peace."

Sam slapped the stick against her thigh and it retracted. She stuffed it back in its holster she kept at her back before she stole the bag from his hand. "I thought I told you to stay at my house."

He shrugged as he followed her into his kitchen, which was done. He looked around it . "I got bored. How long did it take you to finish these?'

"Don't change the subject. It took me two hours. Why aren't you at my house?"

"I got bored. Even werewolves get bored."

"Especially born werewolves." He looked at her then. "Your sister told me a lot about your family."

Derek bit his thumb. "I figured she did. She also tell you about my family?"

She shook her head. "No, just about you and her. I didn't know you were a beta."

He made a face. "If you tell anyone about that, I'll wring your neck."

"You'd have to catch me first." That remark made him laugh. She smiled and sat on the counter. Ransacking the bag she found a decent sandwich. There was a diet Pepsi in the bottom of the bag too. "Besides being bored, why are you here?"

He leaned against the wall and crossed his arms. "I wanted to see how this was going." He looked around the kitchen. "I see you patched the bullet holes."

She frowned at him. "If you want me to understand you, you have to look at me when you speak."

"Sorry. I forget sometimes." She shook her head in response to him as she bit into the sandwich. "I said I see you patched the bullet holes."

"You'd be surprised how easy it is." She polished off the rest of the sandwich and hopped off the counter. "I got to get back to work."

"Is there anything I can do to help?"

"Go home." He frowned. "Go home to my house. That's your home for now. So go back to it."

"What am I going to do there?"

She shrugged as she thought. "I don't know. Clean the house, take your clothes over there, cook? I don't know. You can find something to do. I have to get back to work though."

Derek was suddenly ignored and he didn't know what to do. She was sitting on the floor looking up at the wall before standing and measuring what she needed. He obviously wasn't needed so he left.

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"Are you sure you're okay?" Scott asked Derek as he walked into the small house on Lester Street.

Derek was standing in the kitchen doing the same thing he had been doing this morning when Scott had arrived: cooking. This time it was spaghetti and garlic bread was in the oven.

Scott looked at his mentor suspiciously. He knew he had a soft spot for women, especially considering he had a sister Sam's age, but this was interesting if not bordering on ridiculous. Well, if it helped Derek to lighten up, he'd take it.

"I'm fine, Scott." Derek replied as he pulled the pasta off the stove and dumped it in the strainer.

"Then why are you cooking?"

"Because Sam works all day on my house. It's only nice for me to do something like this for her."

Scott frowned then a little light bulb went off in his head. "You like this girl."

Derek glanced over his shoulder. "What are you talking about over there?"

"You're acting the way I do when I'm around Allison. Except this time you're gaga over a Hunter gone rogue."

"She wasn't a Hunter to begin with, Scott."

"She is one now, except she fights for our side. She wants Kate dead."

"I don't think she wants her dead. Just wants to mess her up a bit." Scott's eyebrows shot up at the explanation. "Okay, maybe she wants her dead, but you know you want her dead too."

"Yes, but you also said we have to worry about the Alpha. Don't you think if he knows you and Sam are living together that he'll target her?"

"He might. And we're not living together. I'm just staying here until Kate leaves and my house is finished."

"Oh, please! Her scent is all over you and yours all over her. You're both in danger if you continue like this. I don't know by who at this moment but it will come to a head and it will include us all."

Derek slammed the cookie sheet full of garlic bread down on the counter. "You're one to talk, he who is dating the Hunters' daughter/niece. You're in more danger than I am. At least my woman knows how to defend herself. You didn't see her the other night. She nearly took me out today with a retractable knight stick. What can your girl do?"

"Shoot us with a compound bow."

Scott's mentor blanched before regaining his composure. "The Argents are training their young to hunt us and you're dating one. This isn't going to work. You have to break up with her, Scott, or we all die, including Sam and Stiles, anyone we care about. Kate doesn't care who she kills as long as she kills us. I already lost my sister. This girl and you are my only ties to her. I don't want either of you to disappear."

Scott regained his composure at the thought of his friends and family. This wasn't something he had signed up for but he was in it and he had to deal with it.

"I care about my mother and Stiles but I also like Allison and I don't want to give her up. There's probably some way we can work it all out."

Derek sighed. "There's no way to persuade you." He looked over Scott's shoulder. They had been so wound up in their argument they hadn't heard Sam walk in. she was standing in the kitchen doorway. She was looking at him as he spoke, but was confused because she couldn't see Scott's mouth as he spoke. "Hey, Sam."

Scott turned around and a smile graced his face. "Hey, Sam. How was your day?" The young woman moved one hand from side to side in response. "That good? Well, I wish I could stay but I got a date with Allison."

"Scott, he's right. Continuing with this affair will only end in heartache for someone close to you. Take it from someone who knows." Sam said. Her heart was in words as she spoke/signed them.

The younger wolf couldn't argue with someone who was giving him puppy dog eyes. He wrapped his arms around her and hugged her tightly. She smiled at him before he walked past her and out the door.

Sam turned around and smiled at Derek. "What have you made?"

"Spaghetti." Her eyes darkened a little. "What is it?"

"I hate to tell you this after you worked so hard on it but…."

"But?"

"I'm allergic to anything tomato based and red food dye." She scrunched her nose up in preparation for something rough.

Derek just shook his head. "No problem. We'll just have garlic bread and macaroni."

She smiled at him then. "You don't have to do that. Eat the spaghetti and I'll eat macaroni."

With that plan in mind, they set out to do what they agreed.


	5. Chapter 5

Author's Note: To everyone who is commenting on this story, thanks so much. All the feedback is really helpful and it makes me giddy to know that you really enjoy this.

As for the reason I chose deaf girl for this story is I am learning sign language and truly enjoy it, plus I watch Switched at Birth. I think it's completely awesome that people can have disabilities and continue on with everyday life. So to have a Hunter who is deaf just really shows how people can be truly amazing. Not to mention it's fun writing about Derek. So, please keep up with the good reviews and I will try to please you with this story.

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It had been seven days since Derek had moved temporarily into the small house on Lester Street. It's single occupant was a twenty something woman who was refurbishing his house. Sam was fast becoming his best friend, and his love interest.

He had known her since she was seventeen. Now both were in their twenties and had a common enemy. Derek knew his reason was hatred, but he wasn't sure if Sam's was just avenging her friend's death or her disability. Maybe it was both or maybe it was one, he wasn't sure and he didn't want to think about it.

Currently they were walking in the woods. He had been cramped up in the house that when she came home, he had basically begged to get out. They both knew it was too dangerous for him to be walking about the town so they decided to head into the woods that bordered his property.

Sam's hand was tucked warmly in his as they walked under the trees. She didn't seem to be upset about anything, especially after a water pipe burst in the bathroom she had been working on. His house was to be finished in a few days, which surprised him considering she worked alone all day.

He jumped over a small creek and held out his hand for hers. When it settled nicely in his, he tugged her over. She laughed as his arms closed around her.

Derek never thought he could feel this way again. He had loved his sister dearly but Sam was more than a sister. She was something like Scott had with Allison. But Derek didn't want to put her through all that. It was bound to happen that the Hunters would find out about his sudden spark of emotions and go after her. There was no doubt in his mind she would do some pretty heavy damage but they would ultimately get her. They always did.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Sam asked as they walked.

He looked at her and smiled. "It's nothing."

She smiled. "You're lying." He just stared at her. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want."

"It's to that. I'm just concerned."

"Everyone is at some point. You're worried Scott will mess up with Allison and you're scared I'll get hurt. Am I in the right track?"

"Pretty damn close." He stopped and just looked around a moment. When he wanted to speak, he made sure he looked directly at her. "I don't want to lose someone else to them."

"Me either. I've been waiting for nine years to get my say and it looks like it will finally happen. But at what cost? That's the only question I haven't answered. I'm hoping time will tell but if it doesn't, then I'll deal with it."

Derek didn't know what he was doing but a few seconds later, his face was mere inches from hers. Neither said a word. He looked at her close up and noticed how green her eyes really were. There was a glimmer of mischief in them as he watched them closely. He could feel her breath on his face as he waited.

"What do we have here?" Derek turned at the voice. Kate came walking towards them. "Oh, Mr. Sexy has a girlfriend. Does she know what you are?"

Before Derek could do anything, Sam had moved from behind him and had Kate pinned to the ground with a hand gun to her temple. Kate could only stare in shock at the young woman.

"I remember your face." Kate said.

"Really? Good. Because I'm the girl you caused to go deaf because you decided to blow up my friend and his family." Sam replied.

Derek jerked her off and had the gun in his hand before she could use it. Kate was scrambling to get off the ground and backing away.

"I'll get her and you too, Derek. Mark my words. You both will die." She turned and ran through the woods.

Derek turned and looked at Sam. She was shaking in anger. "Let's get home then we'll talk."

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The second they hit the door, her hands were flying as she spoke. Derek took a back seat and just listened. She told him her entire story and the reason she was technically after Kate. She didn't want to kill the woman but if it came down to her life or Kate's, it would always come down to Sam's life being more important.

After an hour of ranting, she locked herself in the bedroom. Derek got up and made some tea for her. It not only gave her time to cool off but it gave him time to figure out what he was going to do.

He had just been told her entire life story. Anyone who had that happen to them would be in the same situation. It sucked and he needed time to deal with it. Hopefully by the time the kettle whistled he would have a thought process going.

Well, that concept was shot down when the kettle whistled five minutes after he had put it on. He made the tea the exact way she had made it the first night he had been there. He walked to the bedroom and knocked. Receiving no reply, he opened the door.

She was standing in front of the mirror with no shirt on looking at scars that were long passed healed. Some were longer than others and some were small and circular. They were white in contrast to her pink skin. He set the mugs down on the dresser and walked over to her. His hands came to her shoulders and then the dipped down to her back. She inhaled deeply but didn't say anything.

"This was her doing?" he asked. She nodded.

They stayed silent for a few moments. Derek couldn't help but let his fingers trace her back and shoulders. She turned around and let him engulf her in his arms. She held tightly to him. He felt her hands fist his shirt in the back. He shifted just a little to force her back. She looked up at him with wariness in her eyes. He lifted his hands to her face and brushed her hair back.

"I won't hurt you." He whispered.

"Can you promise that?" she asked.

He bit his lip before he kissed her. It was passionate and something he had wanting to be doing since he had met her a week ago. His fingers accidently dug into one of the scars and she whimpered. He turned her and they both fell to the bed. She stopped him with one look.

He reached behind his head and jerked his shirt over his head.


	6. Chapter 6

There was a loud knock at the door.

Derek woke when the pounding continued. He looked over. Sam was curled on her side with the blankets pulled up around her. She was sleeping peacefully.

And the pounding continued.

He groaned and climbed from the bed. He pulled on a pair of jeans and went to answer the door.

Scott was on the other side and he looked nervous.

"No one followed you here, did they?" he asked immediately off the bat.

"No. I made sure I took the long way around. Can I come in?" Scott asked. Derek stepped back and let him in. "Were you in bed?"

"It's four o'clock. Most people are asleep right now. Why aren't you?"

"I couldn't so I went out for a run. While doing that I ran into the Argents. They were talking about the woman they saw with Derek Hale. Were you and Sam out and about tonight?"

Scott's voice was accusatory, but he thought he'd better answer honestly. "We were."

"Here you were telling me to be careful and you were out with Sam! That's so hypocritical, Derek!"

"What did they say?

Scott stared at him for a moment before answering. "They said they were going to make her pay for what she did to Kate. We have to get her out of here, Derek."

"She won't go and I'm not going to make her."

The younger stared at the older. As he tried to figure out what he was going to say, he took in a deep breath and then stopped. "Did you….did you sleep with her?"

"Scott…"

"No! You don't want me to be with Allison and yet you're sleeping with the woman who fixes your house. Real smooth."

"Sam can defend herself, Scott. You haven't seen her do it. What can Allison do besides shoot a compound bow?" Scott didn't answer. "That's what I thought. Take the couch. We'll figure this out at a decent hour."

Scott didn't argue. The boy stripped off his shirt, kicked off his shoes and flopped down angrily on the couch. Derek watched him for a few moments before scratching his head and returning to the bedroom.

Sam had rolled over and was facing him. He looked at her. Her eyelashes lay against her cheeks, covering her gorgeous eyes. Her hair was mussed from sleep.

A slight smile on his face, he walked to the other side of the bed and climbed back in. she sensed him and rolled over to snuggle against his shoulder. Derek raised his arm and let her rest against his side, his arm going securely around her.

"What was the argument about?" she asked in a sleep filled voice. Her face was buried in his neck and her breath tickled him.

"Scott said the Hunters are after us. How did you know about that?" he asked.

"I felt the vibrations as you got up and the front door slammed. You really should remember that."

He chuckled as he turned onto his side, pressing her against his chest. "Well, I'm going back to sleep. You should as well."

He heard her snort in laughter as they settled down.

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Sam stood in the middle of Derek's living room. She was done with the downstairs and was ready to start on the upstairs.

When she had taken this job she figured she'd just be helping a werewolf who had no one else to help him. Now she realized he wasn't helpless or lonely. Well, he may be lonely, but he was far from helpless. She got the distinct feeling he didn't like other people seeing him the way he was.

When she had told him she was deaf, he had taken on the roll of protector and had really learned how to speak to her. Scott and Stiles, who were his ever constant companions even if he didn't like them sometimes, were close to him. Derek would never admit it but he cared about those two boys and would do anything to protect them.

She took the stairs two at a time and looked around the upstairs. It was kept in better condition than the downstairs. Derek obviously took pride in making sure the place where he slept was kept in tiptop shape.

As she snooped, she found a room that was decorated in a girl's fashion. This must have been Laura's room. She could see why Derek would want to keep that the same. It was recently his sister had been killed. He still wasn't over the shock. Who would be? It had been nine years since her own family was killed at the hands of the Argents. Well, they weren't her family but they might as well have been.

"I should have known you'd return." Kate said. Then she remembered the girl couldn't hear her. So she tapped her on the shoulder. Sam turned and scowled. "I knew you would return. You're the one that's fixing this place up for the werewolf, aren't you?"

"What do you want?" Sam asked.

"I want to know where you've hid Derek Hale."

"That's something you won't get from me."

"You said I killed your friend and caused you to go deaf. I think I remember that night. Yes, it was a Victorian outside of Burbank, wasn't it? I remember that night. We killed all the guards outside before setting the house on fire. It was amazing how fast those flames spread. Then again the house was old. And the explosion. Wow! That thing was huge. It took out the next house to the left. But what got me all the children we took out, children who would never grow up to be menaces."

"The children weren't menaces. They were going to school. Callie wanted to be a doctor, Michael a nurse, and Katie a lawyer. You took their lives out from under them with no remorse."

"Of course there was no remorse. These creatures are devils and will kill anything in their path." Kate stopped talking and walked forward. "You know what I'm going to take real pleasure in killing Derek Hale."

That was the last straw. Sam backhanded her. The force of the impact knocked Kate down the stairs. Sam leapt up on the rail and jumped down, landing neatly on her feet. Kate was getting to her feet. The other woman pulled her knight stick from her back and extended it. She smacked it across Kate's face. The older woman screamed in pain.

"Don't touch Derek. I will snap you like a twig." Sam said, the knight stick at the ready.

"You just broke my jaw!" Kate screamed. Sam couldn't hear her because she was facing away from her.

Kate lashed out with the taser. Sam jumped back. The taser missed her by three inches. The younger woman swung around and kicked the machine from the other's hand. Kate looked into green ice chips as she got ready for another battle.

"You're good for a deaf girl." Sam didn't answer. "Do you have anything left to say?"

"Should I?"

Kate produced a hand gun and fired one round. Sam's eyes widened as she fell back. Her hands fluttered up to her stomach. Lifting her hand, she saw blood covering her palm.

The older woman kneeled beside her. "Damn. You just redid these floors didn't you? Tsk. Well, Derek's just going to have to have them redone again. Have fun." She smacked Sam's face then left her to suffer in her own blood after smashing her cell phone.

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"Sam!" Scott called through the woods.

It was nearing seven o'clock and the woman hadn't shown up or sent a text or anything. Derek was getting worried but he couldn't go anywhere lest he get attacked by the Hunters. So Scott volunteered to swing by his house.

"I don't see her car anywhere." Stiles said. He had been with Scott when Derek had been pacing the house so he volunteered to drive.

"She wouldn't have wandered into the woods. Derek said she only did that when he was in trouble." He stopped and turned around. "We have to find her."

"I'll look out here while you go in the house."

"Okay." Scott walked in the house and tried the light switch. Apparently Sam hadn't gotten that far yet. He went into the kitchen and looked around. "Sam?"

"Help." His sensitive hearing picked up a faint cry then the smell of blood.

"Oh, God." He found her in the living room lying on her back in a pool of drying blood. She had been there a few hours and had no way of calling out. Her cell phone lay beside her in pieces.

He dropped to his knees and looked over her. She looked up at him. Her eyes were dull. "Sti…Stiles! Stiles!"

The other boy came in the door then….and stopped dead in his tracks. "Oh, God."

"Call an ambulance!" While he was turned around on the phone, Scott turned back to Sam. "Who did this?"

"Kate…showed up and shot me. She's going…..to kill Derek. You have to stop her." she mumbled.

"We will. Just lie still. Help is on its way."

Scott waited with her. Stiles waited outside for his dad and when he arrived, showed him inside.

After the EMTs got Sam stabled on the backboard, Scott rode with her to the hospital, holding her hand the entire way. Stiles had to go tell Derek, which wasn't going to be a good thing.


	7. Chapter 7

**Author's Note:** I know this seems like a little cliché to have someone in the hospital but I swear this story took on a life of its own. Many of you have asked me to kill Kate. I don't know if I'm going to do that but I promise I will make it a fight between her and Sam that you will never forget. So stay tuned.

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Stiles refused to go up to the house just yet. Derek was going to go all wolfy on him once he told him Sam was in the hospital. He hadn't heard anything at all so he was waiting until Scott got back at him.

He rested his head against the steering wheel. This was so not happening. He and Derek just got on speaking terms now he was going to tell him his girlfriend was in the hospital. Could this relationship get any better?

His phone went off. "Hello?"

'Stiles?' Scott's voice was very welcomed on the other end.

"Yeah, it's me. What's going on?"

'They emitted her into surgery. They said she lost a lot of blood and was in severe shock. Derek needs to be here.'

"Yeah, I'm going to get him."

'I'll see you in a bit.'

"Yeah. Maybe." He got out of his car and went up to the house. Derek opened the door on the first knock. "Hey, I got something to tell you."

"Where's Sam?" Derek asked right off the bat. "I swear she hasn't called or anything and I can't go over to the house to check on her."

"Derek, shut up! Sam's in surgery at the hospital."

Derek stared at him for few moments before he started laughing. When he noticed Stiles wasn't, he sobered up. "What? No. No. It's not possible."

"I'm sorry, but she is. Scott's with her now. Come on."

Derek grabbed his jacket and followed the boy out the door.

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Scott sat quietly in the waiting room. Not only had he gotten the whole story from Sam, but he had dealt with the police. Stiles' dad had been set on finding the shooter but Scott made sure he kept it simple. He didn't know who shot her. Plain and simple.

There was commotion down the hall. Stiles and Derek were arguing about why she was here. Scott rose and met them halfway.

"What the hell happened?" Derek asked.

Scott pulled him aside and out of ear shot. "Kate Argent attacked Sam at your house sometime this afternoon. She shot her once but it was enough to cause severe blood loss. She was extremely weak when we found her. She says Kate's after you and for us not to let her get to you."

"She attacked Sam. I'm not going to stand by and let her get away with it." Derek said.

"You don't have a choice. She asked nicely. I'm bound by that to keep you from doing something stupid and if you do, she made sure if you did anything stupid, she'd hurt you herself."

Derek began to shake he was so angry. Just then, the doctor came out at the same time that Stiles' dad walked up.

Scott knew who he was. "Dr. Crater, how's Sam?"

"We stopped the bleeding. Luckily there was no internal damage. The bullet made shrapnel, which we fortunately removed safely. The bruises were result from a beating she sustained." The doctor replied.

"How is she doing now?"

"She's going to make it. She'll have to stay here for a few days to make sure nothing happens."

"Can I see her?" Derek asked. He was literally jumping in his skin.

"She's in recovery room three."

"Thanks, doctor."

"Excuse me, Scott. Before you go I have a few more questions to ask. Do you mind?" Stiles dad asked.

Derek looked at Scott. "Go on. I'll take care of this."

The older werewolf nodded and walked down the hall.

Door three was open as he walked up to it. There was a nurse in the room. He ignored her and she was happy to ignore him as well. He pulled up a chair and sat next to the bed. Sam was hooked up to a ventilator until she came out of anesthesia. IVs were going in each arm, one for a transfusion and the other for the drip. Her skin was cold to the touch but as he held on to it, it began to warm up.

"Excuse me." The nurse said. "Who are you?"

"I'm her roommate." He replied. It wasn't the truth but it wasn't a lie. He was living in the same house as her but he was also sleeping with her. It counted as a roommate.

"You do know she has no family that's around?"

"Yes. I do."

"Okay. This is a big commitment to take care of someone just out of surgery. Are you certain you can do it?" Derek looked over his shoulder and gave her a stare to end all stares. She left the room quickly.

He turned back around and looked at the girl in the bed. He really shouldn't call her a girl. She was a grown woman who knew how to take care of herself even with a disability. He ran his hand along her rusty hair, silently wishing she would look at him with those green eyes of hers.

His mind went back to two nights ago. Seeing the scars she sported from her first attack Kate put her through made him want to protect her and watch out for her. As he thought about it, now she'd have a new one, except this time it would be in her stomach. The passion they had shared that night still rocked him to the core. He still thought about it.

He missed her. It was pure and simple.

The door opened again. This time it was Stiles and Scott. They sat down on the pull out couch and looked at her. If there was anything they knew, it was that Derek had put everything he had into this relationship. If it was because of his sister, he would never know but that didn't matter at this point. Sam was the only woman who they had seen that made him this way. He was different than he had been two months ago when Scott had been changed. He always seemed to be the tough guy but with Sam he was completely different.

They watched as he ran his fingers through her hair as he watched her sleep. The only thing that was odd about this was all the wiring and tubing that was coming from her.

"Dad thinks they can find the person who shot her." Stiles said as a warning.

"We can't let him do that." Derek said.

"We won't. We won't say anything about the Argents or the Hunters. We'll deal with this ourselves." Scott said. "Plus we also have the Alpha to deal with."

"This is going to pile up on us fast if we don't get a handle on it." Stiles warned.

"This much we know. We'll have to wait until she's able to be moved before we do anything."

Derek looked up then. "She's not dumb enough to attack while she's in the hospital."

"Probably not her, but they know you'll be back and forth every day. They'll come after you while you're walking through the parking lot or when you're walking up to the house. We have to be extra careful when dealing with this. They already got one of us, two if you count you being shot a month ago. We don't need anyone else in trouble." Derek ignored him, turning his attention to Sam. "Derek, we'll stop them."

"I know we will."

Scott nodded and stood, taking Stiles with him. The two boys walked out the door, leaving the other guy alone in the hospital room.

"What are we going to do?" Stiles asked.

"I'm going to talk to Kate. I don't care if she shots me. I want to know why she attacked Sam."

"Is that a good idea?"

"Probably not but I got to try something."

"Let's hope it doesn't get us killed."

They walked out the front door of the hospital to their new mission.


	8. Chapter 8

**Author's Note:** So I had to make Scott a somewhat-hero. This whole chapter you will not see Derek or Sam. It's all about Scott and Stiles. Sorry. There's not much that can be done in a hospital room.

And as for updating quickly, it's summer and there's nothing to do right now. So I might as well right.

This is really short but I don't think you'll mind.

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Scott knocked on his girlfriend's door with the grimmest of moods. This was not what he wanted to be doing but his friends were in danger. He had to confront Allison's aunt before something else happened that he couldn't stop.

He looked to Stiles. His best friend was determined to stand by him. He had proved that when he nearly cut off Derek's arm after he was poisoned by Wolfsbane and again when he made sure Scott stayed calm last night when they had found Sam.

His mind going to Sam, he became angry. Who in their right mind attacks a deaf girl when she's alone? Someone who had no integrity or respect for people. Kate Argent fit that bill perfectly at the time.

The door opened and Allison smiled. "Hey! What are you doing here?"

"I need to talk to your aunt, Allison. It's really important." He said.

She must have noticed how serious he was because she went and got her aunt in a second.

Scott and Stiles looked at each other just as Kate came to the door. She was smiling as she came outside and shut the door. Instinctively Scott took a step back, putting Stiles behind him.

"What can I do for you boys?" she asked pleasantly. It was just a façade she was using to try to throw them off. It wasn't going to work.

"Why did you shoot Sam?" Scott asked.

Kate looked at them in confusion. Good cover. "Who's Sam?"

"Sam who? Sam's the auburn hair woman you fought and shot yesterday in the Hale house. Now I want to know why you did it."

"You boys are very brave to come at me like you did. I commend it, even if it's on the border line of suicide."

"Why did you shoot her?"

"Because she's helping Derek Hale get his life back in order. I don't want that. He needs to suffer for what he is."

"And what is that exactly?"

Kate smiled. "Wouldn't you like to know? Why are you so worried about her anyway?"

"You shot her in the stomach with a .38 special. She's my friend and so is Derek. I need to know the real reason why."

She moved to stand in his face. Scott shoved Stiles a little farther behind him. "Derek Hale is a monster and he needs to be put down like the dog he is. No one is going to stop me from taking him down. Not a twenty something girl he's sleeping with and not a couple of teenagers. So what are you going to do about it?"

"I'm not going to do anything but Derek will mess you up the moment you come after him. He's got something else to fight for instead of himself. I won't say I told you so because I'm a nice guy, but the moment he comes after you, I won't be helping you out."

"Then I'll just pump him full of Wolfsbane and watch him die. How's that?"

"He'll take you out in a heartbeat."

"Not if I shoot first."

Scott frowned. "I tried to talk you out of this but clearly you're beyond all reason. Come on, Stiles."

"Scott, wait!" He turned around as he and Stiles were walking away. Allison was running towards them. "I heard your friend Sam was shot. Is she okay?"

"Yeah, she's fine. She came out of surgery late last night. The bullet didn't damage any organs." He replied.

"How long will she have to stay?"

"A few more days. We're heading back there now."

"Can I come?"

Scott looked at Stiles. The other boy shook his head. "It's probably not the best time to see her at the moment. I'll let you know when it is."

She smiled. "Okay. Tell her I said the get well soon."

"I will." When they were safely tucked in Stiles' car, Scott sighed. "That was close."

"Oh, yeah. I don't think that it's a good idea to go back to talk to her anymore. She won't be any help and we might end up with another person shot instead of Sam." Stiles continued to drive down the road. "Are we telling Derek?"

"No. He already knows she'll do it. Let's stop by and get him something to eat. Hospital food sucks."


	9. Chapter 9

**Author's Note:** I know last chapter was a short one but I needed some of Scott and Stiles.

This chapter looks more into Derek's feelings and how he reacts to some things that Scott tells him.

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Derek watched as Sam slept. He had taken her home after two days in the hospital. She was not in danger of any infection so the doctors had given him the go ahead to bring her home.

She slept fitfully but he couldn't do anything to stop it. All he had was the pain meds the doctor had prescribed for Sam. She had already taken one and it put her to sleep. The pain must be too bad because she wasn't sleeping well.

He ventured into the adjacent bathroom to shower. He felt grimy which wasn't like him. Recently he had been working on his own house. Mainly at night that way Scott and Stiles could be at the house so Sam would have someone at home all the time.

His thoughts wandered to his house. It was almost done. All that was left was the plumbing. The electrical work had been taken care of and that meant an air conditioner was being used to cool the house down. He wanted to do the plumbing but he had no knowledge of it. He would just have to wait.

Sam groaned in the other room, which successfully brought him out of his revelry. He shut the water off and threw a towel around his waist before walking out. She was sitting up in bed with her head thrown back against the head board. He walked over and sat on the edge of the bed. Without opening her eyes, she took his hand and leaned against him.

"You okay?" he asked, placing her hand on his throat.

"No. I hurt." She whined.

"Give me a second to put some pants on." She nodded and let him up.

Moving slowly off the bed, he dried off quickly before tossing the towel into the laundry basket. He pulled on a soft pair of pants and climbed back in the bed. Once he was situated she laid close to him, her head resting on his chest.

Derek felt her fall into sleep almost instantly. This was all she needed. They had been sleeping together since the first night he stayed over and he was getting used to it. Then the night after she had taken on Kate by herself was probably the best night of his life. No one had cared for him in such a way before.

He had a sinking feeling he was falling in love with her. That was dangerous. He had never been one to give over his feelings easily and in a matter of weeks he had given them over to someone he barely knew. He knew her but not well enough to be giving something so precious.

As he thought, Derek was suddenly accosted by visions. He looked down at her then. Her hair was falling in her face as she slept. It moved slightly as she breathed in and out. He knew behind those eyelids lay two pristine eyes that could see right through him. Her ears, though they didn't work as they should, were usually warm. If he remembered random stuff like that, then he was doomed.

She shifted in her sleep and winced. Her hand settled on her stomach and she settled back down. When he was certain she was asleep, Derek got up and went back into the bathroom. He ran hot water in a bowl and grabbed a wash cloth. He went back into the bedroom, set the bowel on the bedside table, and climbed back in the bed. Very gently, he removed her hand from her stomach and lifted her shirt.

The stitches were dark against her dark skin. The bullet hole was patched up and oozing lightly. He pulled the bandage off watched a little bit of blood run down her stomach. Prepared with extra gauze and tape and all the things he needed, he began cleansing the wounds. Anger ripped through him once again as he treated her.

"Derek." He looked up. She was slightly awake, her eyelids drooping enough to prove that she was still drowsy from the medication. "You don't have to do that."

Taping the rest of the gauze in place, he moved up the bed, framed her face with his hand, and kissed her. She responded weakly but enough to know that she was feeling the same thing he was. Her hands came up to his face. He was certain she meant to wrap her arms around his neck, but the drugs must have made her feel weak so her hands only rested on his face. Her nails scratched the stubble on his cheeks. He wasn't sure she realized she was doing it.

He captured her hands in his and pushed them against her chest. She looked at him. "You're hurt. There's no way we can do this. You should rest now that the bandages have been changed. I'm going to find something to eat." She nodded and settled back against the pillow.

When he was certain she was asleep, he walked out into the kitchen and promptly punched a cabinet. Why had he let this happen? Why hadn't he pushed her away when he had the chance? He should have made sure she was safe before he let her go to his house to work. He should have gone with her.

"Derek?" He turned around and came face to face with Scott. The younger werewolf looked at him. "You can't beat yourself up for this. It wasn't your fault. Kate just wanted to be a bitch and get to you."

"That's the whole thing. She wanted me. Me, Scott. And Sam was caught in the middle. That's what happens when we get too close to someone. They end up getting hurt." Derek replied.

"Here." Scott set a bag on the counter. "I stopped by the restaurant and got you something. I didn't figure you would want to cook anything. That takes too much time and you don't want to be away from Sam anymore than you have to."

"Thanks."

"Are you going to work on your house tonight?"

"No. I'm going to stay here for the night. I have a bad feeling that if I went, the Argents would find her."

"We're doing all that we can to keep her safe."

"You didn't tell Chief Stilinski did you?"

"I didn't say a word about it. He asked many times but I haven't said a word and as far as I can tell, Stiles hasn't said anything either."

"He better not say a word."

"Derek, do you seriously think we're going to give her away when she obviously means so much to you? We're not cruel and we don't want to piss you off. That's suicide."

Derek nodded. "I believe you."

Scott sighed and leaned back in his seat. "You've fallen hard for her, haven't you?"

The other werewolf dropped the French fry he was eating. "It's stupid."

"No, it's not. It's normal. Haven't you seen the old movies? The protagonist is always in love with a human girl."

"This isn't a movie, Scott. We're the real deal. It's not safe for the girls."

"It's not safe for them now but I'm trying to make the most of it."

Derek pointed behind him. "Mine's laid up in bed because of yours family decided to shoot her. That sound like she's safe?"

"Don't snap at me. I'm just trying to help."

"I know."

"Derek." Both men turned around as Sam came into the kitchen.

Scott jumped up at the same time Derek did, but he did it for a whole different reason. He got up to give her his chair.

"Stop." She snapped at both of them, her arms going to either side of her to keep them at a distance. "I'm fine. I just came in here to get something to eat." She had resorted to using her hands again, which they didn't understand.

The guys took a step back and let her move about. Her hands moved from object to object so she could keep her balance. Derek fisted his hands by his side to keep from reaching out to help. She grabbed a bottle of water and sat down at the table, exhausted.

"Do you want anything to eat?" Derek asked. He hadn't moved from where he had been standing.

"No. I'm just taking time before I headed back to the bedroom." She waited a moment and got back up, taking her time to get to her room. The door shut, telling them she was back in bed.

"She's a handful." Scott joked.

"Yeah. You should get home." Derek said.

"Okay. If you need anything, call me."

"I will."

Derek followed him to the door. When he was sure the other guy was gone, he locked the door, turned out the lights and went to the bedroom. Sam was once again asleep in the bed, the bottle of water on the night stand.

He shed his pants and climbed back in with her. As usual, she rolled to him when he had settled. His mind told him to get rid of her, but his body said something completely different. And his heart wasn't going to let him put her out with or without the bullet hole in her stomach.

Sam settled closer and that made his body heat up even more. There was absolutely no way Derek was going to let this girl get away from him. He was too invested to let her go without much of a fight.

This was all well and good but if she didn't want him, there's wasn't anything he could do about that. At the moment he was going to make sure she was taken care and that she gets over this and comes back to fighting form.


	10. Chapter 10

_**Author's Note:**_ I love it! Only two days and I've got over 1000 hits on this story. *happy dance*

I hope you liked the last chapter. It took a bit to get it out there but there it was. So keep reading to find out what happens with Sam and Derek.

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"Are you sure you should be on a ladder?" Derek moved into seeing distance so he could let Sam see.

"Are you sure you want to be standing under the ladder while I am on it?" she replied.

"What are you going to do? Drop a bucket of paint on me?"

"No." The hammer she had been using fell off the ladder and nearly hit him had it not been for his reflexes. She smiled cheekily. "Whoops."

"Whoops my ass." Gently he wrestled her off the ladder and to the floor, using his body to cover hers. She was laughing the entire time. He looked down in her face as the last breath of laughter left her. "I thought I lost you."

She looked him squarely in the eye. "The only place I went to was the hospital."

"With a bullet hole in your stomach. That's not a luxury trip."

"I don't live in luxury."

"Maybe you should. And you shouldn't be working on this house in your condition."

Sam licked her lips for a moment. "Lift my shirt." He gave her an odd look. "Just do it." He didn't argue as he lifted her shirt. "Now take off the bandage."

When he did, he had to do a double take. The wound had healed after three days. He looked up at her then ran his thumb over it. She winced at that. "It's healed."

"Yes, but the skin is a little tender."

"How?"

"Remember what I showed you with your bullet wound?"

"Yeah."

"I can do it with myself to heal my own body. It takes a few days longer than it would if I healed someone else."

"I have a theory about that."

She inclined her head as much as she could while lying on the floor. "What's that?"

"I think you're healing ability has to come from the purity inside you." She squinted in question. "You're so nice. You took me into your home when I was attacked and you became friends with Scott and Stiles quickly. It's who you are." She nodded at him, as if she was soaking that in. "I have an idea."

"The last idea you had ended with the two of us in my bed after a series of events."

He barked a laugh at that because it was true. "No. This one's different. Let's go out tonight." This time she frowned. "I promise nothing's going to happen. They won't attack in public places."

"I know they won't because it won't be pretty. I'll kill her."

"That I have no doubt of."

"But I don't want to go out. It's not smart letting them know I'm better until it's time to move."

She had a solid argument there. If they were to go out, someone would leak to the Argents that Sam was doing better. Sam was their lethal weapon against Kate. If she was leaked there went their element of surprise.

"Besides, I just want to relax in my own house. It's been about a week since I did that without thinking I'd get mauled or worse: catered to hand and foot."

He shrugged. "That's fine with me."

"Okay. Let me finish here and we'll head home."

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"I thought you said we weren't doing this?" Derek asked as he looked down at Sam.

After a delicious dinner of nachos, courtesy of Scott and Stiles who dropped by on their way home from their game, and a six pack of root beer, they settled on the couch for a night of sappy movie then action movie. Derek initiated the first contact of the night, besides slipping his arm around her shoulders. Sam just took a little farther.

She raced him to the bedroom, where he tackled her.

"No, I said your plan was to do this right off the bat. My plan was to get you all guzzied up then reduce you to mush. It seems like it worked."

Derek didn't answer with words. He simply kissed her senseless. She wrapped her arms around him and rolled them. Sam sat on her feet and looked down at him. Here he was, the man she had been crushing on since high school.

He had grown up in the years she had disappeared from Beacon Hills to go to school. When she had found out his house needed a little bit of work, she jumped at the chance to do it. It didn't matter that she couldn't hear. It never had in the past. This time it was her and him.

She tilted her head slightly before running her finger along his eyes. "Always so serious, Derek. Maybe you should lighten up a little bit."

"If I lighten up, people get killed." He said.

"Your eyes say something completely different."

Derek grabbed the back of her thighs and sat up while looking up at her. "Yours say the same thing."

"I never hid anything from you. All you had to do was ask. Were you scared?"

"Still am."

She pressed her forehead against his. "I know." He kissed her in response. "But you don't have to hide it anymore."

"Thank God."

He brought her mouth down to his and took great pleasure in making it his, but he did so gently.

The rest of their actions were blurry, even to them. They were quiet but rough. Derek attempted to be as gentle as could be, but with his wolf side getting into the moment, it was getting harder to control. Sam didn't seem to mind. At one point she even whispered for him to go with the flow and let his wolf take over for the moment.

"I don't want to hurt you." He said.

"Don't worry about it." She smacked him in the face.

The smack in the face made him smile and his movements increased in vigor. Sam clutched at his back as he drove deeper and deeper. At the last minute he pulled her up to him and pressed her back against the headboard. She didn't say a word to him as he put his head in the crook of her neck and pressed in as deep as he could. He finally let go in a feral growl.

When he pulled out, he was so weak he couldn't even roll over. Sam held him against her as he caught his breath.

Derek pressed his nose to her skin and just inhaled her scent. Besides the sweat and sex, he smelled himself there. But the most abundant smell was the smell of Sam. It was a mixture between her body wash, which was something with the word midnight in it, and just her own rustic scent. He was just happy that his scent was lingering.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Her muted voice rang through his thoughts.

He looked up at her. Her head was tilted back against the headboard and she was looking down at him with hooded eyes. He propped his head up in the palm of his hand and looked at her. '

"Just thinking." He replied.

She made a deep sound in the back of her throat. "Whenever you think, it always ends badly for the other person."

"How did you get so good at reading me?"

"You let your guard down around me."

Derek tugged her down to lie on her pillow. He looked at her, trying to decide whether or not he should speak his mind. He knew whispering in her ear wouldn't work because she couldn't hear.

"I think I've fallen in love with you." He said outright and with no qualms.

She smiled at him. "What took you so long in saying it?"

"I was afraid it would end up as something different." She was confused at that. "I was nervous to tell you because I didn't want it to seem real. But it became real the night you were…"

"The night I was shot."

"Yeah. I didn't want to lose you."

"I haven't gone anywhere in three weeks, Derek. I wasn't going anywhere when I moved here before senior year. I'm not going anywhere any time soon. You're stuck with me."

Derek smiled and rolled, initiating round two.


	11. Chapter 11

**Author's Note:** I don't know about you but I love this story.

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"Oh, God! Could you put some clothes on, please?"

Sam woke up and looked at Scott before laughing. She had sensed him as he walked into the bedroom. Derek was asleep on the other side of the bed. How he had not heard that was beyond her. Both of them were not in the best of circumstances.

To play fair she pulled on a one of Derek's shirts and walked out into the living room. Scott was standing next to the wall with his arms crossed and severe color in his cheeks.

"Why aren't you sitting, Scott?" she asked as she moved into the kitchen.

"Are you kidding? I don't know what you did on those surfaces." He complained. She could only laugh as she put coffee on to brew. He sobered up. "I need to talk to you."

She sat down at the table. "Okay. What's up?"

"Derek told me the other day that he won't go up against the Argents until you're better. Can you please talk to him about it?"

"If he says he won't go up against him, he won't. I can't force him to be anything less than he is." Scott groaned. "Scott, Derek's trying to protect everyone. We can't do anything but let him do what he's doing now."

"His protecting us has become something I'm too used to."

"Scott, you should be more focused on finding the Alpha."

"How can I focus on the Alpha if I know Derek's in trouble?"

"How'd you do on your game last night?"

"We won. Stiles got to play. Jackson had to sit out for unnecessary roughness, which was hysterical because he usually always gets the glory. Lydia wasn't in the least bit happy but then again she never dates a loser and…." He stopped talking after a minute. "Thanks. However you did that…thanks."

Sam smiled softly. "No problem. Do you want to stay for breakfast?"

Scott jumped at that. "No. I think I'll leave you and Derek to do your thing." He was gone out the door before she could say a word.

After making two cups of coffee, one black and the other with cream, sugar and soy milk, Sam headed back in the bed room. Derek was conked out still. One arm was bent by his face and the other was draped across his stomach. His muscles flexed with every breath he took.

She set the mugs on her dresser and leaned against it to watch. He was peaceful and she hadn't seen him this peaceful in the few weeks she'd met him again. He was something not only to look at but also something to wander about.

It had been years since she had seen him and he hadn't changed in those four years. He was still the quiet, suffer in silence type of guy. She knew that well. She always suffered in silence because she couldn't hear what was going on. Everyone else who had known her treated her like a normal person. His whole family had.

Derek was older than her but she had graduated before him. It wasn't because she was any smarter than him, she just worked her butt off to get out of high school and go to college early. She even did college courses while in high school. Derek had graduated two years later in another town because his family had died in a fire. Then the only other family member he had had been killed a few months ago. He was truly alone.

When Sam had moved back to Beacon Hills three months before Derek had, she had no intention of seeing the man again. But then the job of fixing his house had come up and she jumped. She loved that house. It had always been the place to go for parties. It was the light of the town when she was a kid. She wanted to see it back in its former glory. Finding Derek there had been a plus. He had forgotten who she was but that hadn't stopped him from being nice.

Falling in love had been the last thing on her mind. Ever since she was thirteen, she hadn't really wanted to date anyone because of being deaf. She came off as a confident person but in reality she was timid about guys. Then in walks Derek and everything went out the window. Now he was in her house sleeping in her bed.

Unfortunately she had the feeling he was going to push her away because of everything that had happened. That was the last thing she wanted but if he did it, she would understand. He was a werewolf who was hunted and she was his girlfriend. She was going to be the target. He wasn't going to put her in danger.

Two warm hands gripped her upper arms. Sam looked into warm green eyes. "Penny for your thoughts?"

She laughed. "That's my line."

Derek smiled cheekily. "What are you thinking about?"

"Everything."

"That's a lot to be thinking about." She smiled. "Seriously, what are you thinking about?"

"Seriously, it's a little bit of everything."

He looked at her. She wasn't meeting his eyes for some reason, only when he spoke to her did she look at him. Something was going on and he couldn't figure it out.

"Sam, look at me." He said it even though she couldn't hear it. Instead, he tilted her chin so she could look him in the eye. "What's wrong?" She shook her head, grabbed her mug, and left the bedroom. He followed her, confused by this. "Sam." He grabbed her shoulder and spun her to face him. "Look at me."

"What?"

He was taken back at the way she snapped at him. "What's going on? Is it about last night because I promise I will never…."

"It's not about last night."

"Then what?"

"Are you sure you want to do this?"

"Do what?"

"This. This whole thing. Us, being together. Are you sure about it?"

"Where did this come from?"

She looked away for a moment gather her thoughts. It was either that or her courage. "Scott came over this morning. He told me about the Alpha and I told him what you said a few days ago. But then I was thinking. You tell him not to date Allison because it's too dangerous and yet, here you are, with a normal human. Don't you think that's a little bit hypocritical?"

"There's a difference. Allison can't defend herself like you can. "

"That's not a difference, Derek. I'm human. I bleed like a human. I hurt like a human."

"You've been trained to defend yourself."

"I had to, Derek. I'm deaf. I would never hear anyone coming at me."

"Sam, it's not the same."

"It's exactly the same. We are two girls who have fallen for werewolves and sooner or later we're going to have to deal with it. The way we deal with it is up to us. One of us might end up killed. If that happens, Beacon Hills, watch out. If an Alpha isn't enough trouble, there's going to be even more."

"What are you saying?"

She looked at him, bottom lip caught between her teeth. Finally she shook her head. "I don't know."

Derek walked forward and took her face in his hands. He searched her eyes and only saw one thing: love with a mixture of uncertainty. Damned if he didn't feel the same way. "Sam, I'm going to try my best to keep you safe, even if cost you my life."

She shook her head. "Don't say that, Derek."

"It's the truth. I don't care what Kate Argent says. You're not going anywhere."

"What about what I say?"

"Do you want to leave?" She shook her head. "Good. Now, let's go back to bed. I'm still a little tired."

Sam let him lead her back to the bedroom where he shut the door.


	12. Chapter 12

**Author's Note:** This is going to be short and it's between Stiles and Sam.

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"….and so you told him what you thought?" Stiles asked as he put paper towels in the cart Sam was pushing. He had come by to see if they needed anything. Sam had asked if he could take her to the store and he happily obliged. On the way there she had told him of the little tiff she and Derek had had.

"Pretty much." She replied. "He doesn't see it as hypocritical."

"He wouldn't. The only person he had to look out for was his sister. Now she's gone and you're in her place. The only difference is you're interested in him romantically and not as a sister. There's the difference."

"I don't want him looking at me like I'm his sister."

"Believe me. He doesn't believe. Do you need toilet paper?"

She nodded and the continued down the aisles. "I don't know what to do."

"You've already told him how you feel, which if you ask me is a big step to take for someone like you. I mean he is a big bad wolf and you are little red riding hood."

"Are you insinuating he's going to eat me?"

Stiles took a moment to think about what he just said. She looked at him with raised eyebrows. "That came out wrong didn't it?" She nodded. "What I meant is he's not someone a lovely young woman would end up with. No one's ever seen him smile, much less so nicely."

Sam shook her head slightly. "Why does this have to be so difficult?"

"It's Derek Hale we're talking about. No one knows him that well. Except maybe you of course."

"I have no clue what to do."

"You could tame the beast like Belle did."

Sam frowned at that. "Are you referring us to _Beauty and the Beast_?"

"It's not like that. I mean he is a werewolf and you are a gorgeous woman. This is not going well at all."

Sam smiled. "Don't worry about it. I'm not."

"Have you made a plan of when you're going after the Argents?"

"No. Derek has been tight lipped on this whole matter. It's really starting to piss me off. So I'm thinking of going out on my own and take Kate out."

"I don't think that's a good idea."

She stopped at the frozen food aisle and looked him. "Why not?"

"No offense but the last time you went up against her she put a bullet in your stomach. Next time she just might outright kill you."

"She has to catch me first, Stiles."

"She has many guns to take your head off."

"When we're done here, take me to the woods."

Stiles let his mouth fall open but didn't say anything because they were at the cash register.

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"I still say this is a very bad idea." Stiles jumped over a fallen log as he followed Sam into the woods. "And of course she can't hear me. She's deaf and in front of me." He scowled but continued following her.

Sam stopped and looked around the area. "Okay, right here will work."

Stiles stuffed his hands in his jacket pockets and shrugged. "What am I supposed to do?"

"You're going to chase after me."

That stopped him. "Say what?"

"This is the only way I know how to show you. I'm going to start running and you're going to try to catch me."

"I hate to say this, but you're a girl. Girls don't run as fast as men."

Sam gawked for a moment. "You're a man?"

"Yes. Yes, I am."

She poked him. "Okay then. Get ready to catch me, _man_."

Stiles sighed and took up a stance beside her. On the count of three, they both took off. Stiles was in the lead for a bit. Then out of nowhere, Sam passed him and disappeared into the trees. The boy was in complete shock. She was wicked fast.

"You know you're really slow."

He looked up as he came to a complete stop. She was perched in a tree. "How did you get up there?"

"It's called climbing." She swung her legs and jumped, landing lithely on her feet. "I was a cross country runner in middle school and some of high school, not to mention I trained in martial arts for a few years. But my specialty is weapons."

"So you could take Kate out?"

"In a heartbeat. I'm not afraid of her. I just let her think I am. When she shot me, it was a fluke. I let her think she's in charge and that I'm running scared, but I'm not. I'm biding my time before I strike."

"What does Derek say about that?"

"He doesn't know. Neither does Scott. This has to remain between the two of us. If it's leaked, I know who it came from."

"If I can protect Scott and Derek, than I can protect you. You don't have to worry about me."

"I know." They started back to the Jeep. "Has your dad been asking more questions?"

"No. After you refused to talk, he put it in the non-talking pile."

"Good. I don't want him coming after me. It's not something that needs to come out."

"I think he wants to make sure you're safe. He was that way with my mom. I guess he never gives up."

Sam smiled. "My brother was that way. He was raised to respect women."

"What happened to him?"

"He was killed in a motorcycle accident while I was at Colombia. The house I live in was technically his but he left it to my dad. When my dad decided to move, I got the house. I've always loved Beacon Hills. I never thought I'd get messed up while living here."

Stiles laughed. "Yeah, the place is like that." He helped her into the front seat before getting in himself. As they were on the road back to her house, he asked, "What are you doing tomorrow night?"

"Nothing that I know of."

"We have a lacrosse game. Want to come?"

Sam smiled like a cat. "Of course. And I know who I'm bringing with me."

Stiles made a face but didn't say a word.


	13. Chapter 13

**Author's Note:** It's finally here. The long awaited confrontation between Sam and Kate. I'm not going to kill Kate, just so you know.

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Sam laughed at Derek. He was brooding on the bleachers at Scott and Stiles' lacrosse game. After a few hours arguing about how safe it would be for them to go out, Sam pulled out her trump card. He had frowned at her but grabbed his jacket. He couldn't resist her.

They were sitting together towards the top with their backs to the wall. That was the only place he'd sit. Sam was sitting with her arms linked through Derek's and her head on his shoulder. In other words she was warm while everyone else was freezing. Beside her she had a cup of hot chocolate, compliments of the man beside her.

They watched the game in silence. Scott played fiercely, obviously keeping his wolf tame. Every time he scored, Allison would jump up and cheer. Sam kept her eye on the teenager and her family. Chris was sitting with his daughter and watching carefully. He didn't know they were behind him.

Sam's head came up when she saw Kate walk into the stands. They made eye contact and a sadistic smile came across the older woman's face. Sam tightened her grip on Derek's arm and laid her head back down. This was something she could do. This was her possessive streak. There was no way she was letting that insane woman get her hands on Derek.

Beacon Hills won the game and everyone crowded onto the field. Sam and Derek stood in the back as parents and friends hugged their players. Kate walked by towards the restrooms. Sam followed her and cornered her.

The women looked at each other. Sam was shorter than Kate but she wasn't going to back down.

"I see you're here with your boyfriend." Kate said. "How's that working out for you?"

Sam's eyes never changed. "Listen here, you heartless bitch, you leave Derek alone. If you don't, it won't be Derek that hurts you."

"Are you threatening me?"

"Not at all. I'm just letting you know what's to come if you harm my guy. Now, do you take my regard or do you call my bluff?"

Kate looked at the woman in front of her. She was something to behold. She was standing here in front of her taking her for a wild ride.

She leaned forward. "I say you're bluffing." Then she preceded to hit her.

Sam caught her arm and bent it behind her back, walking her forward into the wall. "I don't bluff when it comes to something or someone I care about. Leave Derek alone, or I'll kill you."

"You can't pull off the shot." Kate kicked back just enough to clip Sam's ankle.

The younger woman fell, losing her grip on the other woman. Kate turned and tried to run but Sam lashed out with her foot, tripping the other woman as she headed for the door. Sam crawled on top of her and got her in a choke hold. Kate rolled and threw her head back. Sam's head smacked the concrete hard but she didn't let go.

"You're stronger than you look." Kate wheezed as she stood up. She turned and backed into the wall, jarring Sam into it and forcing her to let go. "But not strong enough."

Sam lashed out with her knight stick, catching the woman in the knee. She stood and looked down at her. "I'm no light weight, Kate. Remember that."

"Right." Kate chunked a huge rock that someone had kicked into the bathroom at her. It clipped Sam in the face right above her left eye. "We will finish this at a later date."

With blood pouring into her eye, Sam left the bathroom as she dabbed at the wound. Derek and Stiles found her a few minutes later. Derek's senses went on alert instantly. Scott and Allison found them. As soon as Scott saw her, he started looking around.

"What the hell happened?" Stiles asked as Allison took out a tissue from her purse and began dabbing at the wound.

"There was a puddle of water in the floor of the bathroom. I slipped on it and hit my head on the corner of the sink." She replied. It was a lie.

Subtitles please: _I followed Kate to the bathroom where we fought. She threw something at my head and got away_.

She didn't say it out loud because Allison was there taking care of her.

"Are you okay?" Scott asked.

"For the most part. Besides the bleeding and the throbbing, I'm doing good."

Derek nodded. "Let's get you home and we'll take care of that. Thanks, Allison."

The younger girl smiled. "No problem. If you need anything, let me know."

"We will." Derek sent Scott and Stiles a look that said they needed to meet later to discuss this. The boys nodded as Derek led Sam away.

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"Good Lord." Stiles shook his head at the mess that was Sam's back.

"Why the hell did you go after her?" Derek asked.

Sam winced as Scott cleaned the bleeding welts. "I had and still have a score to settle with her."

"Then do it when we're all together, not alone in the bathroom at the lacrosse field!"

"Well, I'm sorry I'm not like you, Mr. Perfect! It's a good thing I'm deaf because I'm positive I don't want to hear you yell at me!"

Scott lowered her shirt and moved in front of her. "Sam, we're just trying to watch out for you. That's all. If he yells, it's because he's Derek and Derek yells._ He_ just wants to watch out for you. That's it. If you can't deal with that, maybe you should rethink this whole situation with us." Sam knocked him over on her way to the bedroom.

"She's so bullheaded." Derek complained.

"Yeah, well, you're not the best person to be with right now, either. Cut her some slack."

"She took on Kate Argent on her on her own. Last time that happened she was shot in the stomach. I'm not having that happen to her again."

"You're scared for her. We get that but "yelling" at her isn't the way to get her on your side of matters. She's a woman and women don't like being told what to do. Believe me it happened with my mom and dad."

"I think we all need to take some time and get used to the idea that Sam is Sam and is never going to be anything less." Stiles said.

"She told me she wasn't going to ask you to go after the Argents any sooner than you needed to. Do her the same courtesy and don't ask her to be anything different than she is." Scott said. He had had many conversations with Sam on the phone. That is when he want talking to Allison. He knew her rather well.

"You seem to be pretty tight with her." Derek scolded.

"And so are you. Derek, she's the only one to make you smile since we've known you. You've been more laid back since she's been around. Get a grip on yourself. Being in love will knock you silly but make sure you're not in love with being in love." Scott looked at his mentor in a different way then. "You really love her, don't you?" Derek didn't answer. "Exactly. Don't push her away."

"How do you know this?"

"Because that's what my dad did to my mom. He loved her so much he pushed her away by cruel means."

"I didn't know, Scott."

"Not many know." He looked down at the floor. "We'll go that way you can make up anyway you'd like to."

Stiles caught that. "Are you guys going to do the bad touch?"

Scott frowned at his friend. "The Bloodhound Gang? Seriously?"

"What? I like the song."

The first boy headed out the front door, the second one following while making faces at Derek.

Derek locked the door behind them and ventured into the bedroom. The shower in the bathroom was running. He walked in. behind the semi-opaque glass, he could see Sam. She was just standing there. He shed his clothes and stepped in behind her. He wrapped his arms around her and instantly she turned. He rubbed her wet head gently.

She lifted her head a few minutes later. There were tears in her eyes and that constricted his throat. "I'm so sorry."

"No, no, no. Don't be. I'm the one who should be sorry. I snapped at you for no reason. You were just trying to help." He replied. She buried her head in his shoulder and held on to him for dear life.


	14. Chapter 14

**Author's Note:** Derek has a temper, which has been displayed throughout this story so I decided to take it down a little. It will be really short too because it's about Sam's thoughts.

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Sam opened her eyes and stared at the window.

What had she been thinking?

She knew that the instant she thought it. She was in love with Derek Hale and that was probably going to get her killed.

But he didn't have to yell at her.

Well, yeah he did. She didn't expect anything less from him. He was Derek Hale after all. He was a werewolf, too, so that made his temper that much worse. She didn't make any excuses for that.

She looked up at him. The peace that over took him when he was asleep was a wonder to behold. He was always so serious. Except around her. It bewildered her somewhat, but she guessed that's what love did to a man. She saw it the way her father loved her mother until her dying day. His love then spilled over to his children, especially to her after her brother died.

After the many losses in her life, her mother, her brother, Everett and his family, she never thought she'd love this much ever again. Then she moved back home to Beacon Hills. This place had always been home, even when no one was her friend. The only friend she had was Laura Hale. Laura had been a few years older than her but she was nice and had a nice brother.

If someone had told her she would be dating Derek Hale, the bad boy of the Hale family, she would have not said a word. She didn't speak in those days for fear of people knowing about her disability. The only person she spoke to was Laura Hale. How the odds were that she would meet the only Hale left.

Sam snuggled closer to Derek and his warmth. He tightened his arm and shifted, tucking her gently to him. She knew he hated what she had done but she had to do it to keep him safe. He wanted to do the same for her. They were going to have to compromise on this some way.

But Derek was a hard ass. So while he was asleep she was going to have to think of a plan to get him to let her go after Kate before she attacked him and Sam had to kill her.

Even if it meant she used her feminine whiles.


	15. Chapter 15

"Everybody wants to be a cat, cuz a cat's the only cat who knows where it's at…."

Scott turned in his seat. "Seriously? _The Aristocats_? What are you? Five?"

Stiles shrugged. "What? I sing Disney songs when I get nervous."

"Why are you nervous exactly?"

"We're going to see Derek. We haven't seen Derek since the incident at the game. I'm not sure I want to see him."

"Everything's fine. I talked to Sam this morning. She said Derek hasn't brought up a thing since that night."

"She must have seduced him."

Scott frowned. "Seriously? Is that all you think they do?"

"You did say you found them that way a few days ago. I just assumed."

"Get your mind out of the gutter."

Silence followed for a bit as Stiles drove from the school to Sam's.

"Why should I worry? Tell me, why should I care?"

"Stiles!"

"Sorry! Look. We're here." They pulled up into the driveway and parked.

Scott got out of the care and walked up to the door…and heard yelling. "Oh, great. They're fighting."

He opened the door to complete and utter chaos. Sam and Derek were in each other's faces and yelling. It wasn't good.

"You are not going anywhere!" Derek yelled.

"You're not the boss of me, Derek! I'm a grown woman and I can decide what I want to do!" Sam's hands were flying at the same time.

"You're my grown woman!"

"I don't belong to you! I belong to no man! I wasn't raised that way!"

Derek's wolf had already taken over and he lashed out. Sam was too close but she jumped back. But she wasn't quick enough. He clipped her shoulder, slicing into delicate skin. She didn't say a word as Scott moved to grab Derek and Stiles came to her.

"It's clear to the bone." Stiles said as he looked her over. "She needs to go to the hospital."

"I'm fine." Sam said. "Go in the bathroom. I have a kit I keep in there. Derek." He looked up into stony green eyes. "Get out."

By the time Stiles had returned from the bathroom, the older werewolf had left the house. He sat down beside his friend and helped remove the clothing around the claw marks. They were all silent as everything was done.

Afterwards they all sat around staring at each other.

"So…." Stiles said. "What was the fight about?"

"I'm going after Kate tonight."

It was out in the open and she let them take it the way they wanted.

Scott started to stutter. "Tonight?"

"I didn't stutter, did I?"

"No, but why tonight?" Sam got up and moved to the kitchen table. She handed Scott a letter that was folded neatly. "'I'll see you tonight at Derek's house. I suggest you come alone or everyone you bring will eat a bullet.'"

"She sent that to you?" Stiles asked.

"Yep. Got it this morning. As far as Derek thinks, I just concocted this plan on my own considering the full moon is in two days."

"That's understandable. You're the only one that's standing between her and killing Derek. No wonder you'd go after her tonight. But is that wise?' Scott asked. Sam stopped what she was doing. "Sorry. Is it wise to go after her?"

"She called me out. I'm doing it. Are you going to be like Derek and tell me I can't go?"

"No, I wouldn't dream of it but I think you need back up."

"She'll kill you if you show up."

"She won't have to know." Sam gave him a look.

"Scott's right. We have to help if we can. Why don't we make a plan?"

Sam conceded and they settled in to work on something.

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"Sweet home Alabama, where the skies are so blue. Da-da-da-da!"

"Stiles, you have been singing all afternoon long. Shut up." Scott said.

"Sorry." Stiles replied.

"Does he do that often?" Sam asked. She was laughing.

"Only when he gets nervous. So we've decided that we'll come in from the east side?"

"Yeah, unless you get caught."

Scott's phone rang then. "It's Derek." He hit the send button. "Hey, Derek, what's…" Sam frowned when he stopped suddenly and looked at Scott. "Where is he?" Sam was already moving around the room gathering things she would need. "If you harm him, she will kill you." He hung up and looked at Sam. "He's being held prisoner in his own house."

"Do either one of you know how to shoot a gun?" Stiles held up his hand somewhat reluctantly. "Good. I'm going to set you up as sniper. We'll all have ear pieces."

"Sam…" Scott made a face.

"I know. I'll have a device that speaks to me that way I know what you're saying. Let's go."

They walked out the door, a ragtag team of Hunters hunting Hunters.


	16. Chapter 16

**Author's Note:** This is the battle you've been waiting on.

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"When she gets here, I'll take her." Kate said to her group assembled in Derek's house.

"Sounds fine to me." One of the guys said.

"Good. Go outside and wait. Let me know when she shows up." After watching them leave, Kate walked into the bathroom. Derek was chained in the bathroom. Even with healing welts and dried blood, he looked good. She admired him from the doorway. "It seems your rescue party will be showing up tonight."

Derek lifted his head, displaying golden eyes. It had only been six hours since he left Sam's. After going out in the woods to calm down before going back home to talk some sense into her, he had been tasered by Kate. When he woke up, he was chained in his bathroom with silver chains in a tub full of Wolfsbane. His skin was burning and it was hard to heal.

He watched as Kate moved about the bathroom, taking great care to stay away from him. "I will take great pleasure in taking your girlfriend out before your eyes. Then I think I'll end your life as well."

"She'll kill you before you even get a crack at her." he growled. Kate punched him in the jaw. He groaned in response.

"She won't survive the night."

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Sam set the gun on the ground and loaded the shells. "Okay. Only shoot the guys and aim for the legs. I don't want to kill anyone tonight."

Stiles looked less than thrilled to be manning a sniper rifle but he listened to her and got down in the dirt.

Scott walked with Sam as they headed towards the house silently."What do you want me to do?"

"When Stiles takes out the guards, you go through and knock them unconscious and bandage their wounds. Once you're done with that, find Derek and get him out of there. When you're done if you haven't seen me by then, tell me you've got him. Then get Stiles and get out of here. I'll meet you back at my house."

"Okay. Stiles, you ready?"

"I'm ready." Sam read the response in her glasses.

"If I'm not back in an hour, Scott, come find me."

"I will. Good luck." Scott said as he disappeared into the woods.

Sam squared her shoulders and walked towards Derek's house."

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"Kate, her she comes." One of the guys on the front porch said.

Kate smiled at Derek. "Only one of us will come back. I'll see you in a bit."

"Kate! Leave her alone! Kate!" Derek pulled against his restraints but the Wolfsbane infested water made him weak.

She walked out of the house. The young woman was walking towards her, hair aflame and green eyes covered by dark sunglasses. She looked sleek in a black suit that molded to her frame, but it also sported the new wounds she had gained.

"Damn. She looks good." One of the guys says.

"She may look good but she's as lethal as a mountain lion. I wouldn't be surprised if she had some smart plan concocted. Keep your eyes open." She stopped off the porch and met the woman half way in the yard. "Good to see you showed up. It looks like Derek got a good lick in on you before you came. Are you sure he didn't do it to get rid of you?"

Sam didn't say a word.

"Not going to say anything? Oh, wait. That's right. You can't hear me. Well let me say this, not like you can understand it, but I'm going to wipe the floor with you. Then when I'm done with you, I'll take your carcass to Derek and let him die alongside you. And the best part is there's nothing you can do about it. What do you say to that?" Sam simply smiled and took off into the woods. "Cat and mouse game are we? Fine. I'll play." She ran after her.

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'Stiles, do you see the man?' Scott asked his best friend quietly. Stiles was lying on his belly in the woods with a sniper rifle on his finger.

"Yeah." He replied.

'Do you have a clear shot?'

Stiles pulled the trigger and the guy screamed, dropping his gun to grab at his ankle. He was surprised at his accuracy. "Apparently so."

'Here comes the other guy.'

"I got him." Stiles picked off the last guy, watching him go down much like the other guy had. "It's your turn. I'll remain here in case someone else shows up."

'Gotcha.'

Scott burst through the underbrush and ran at the house. Very quickly he knocked the guys out and bandaged them. Once done, he ran in the house.

He found Derek in his bathroom. He quickly unshackled him and let him lean against him as he stepped out of the tub. Within a matter of minutes they were heading back into the woods.

Derek stopped. "We have to find Sam."

"She's safe right now. We have to get you out of here." There was a sudden barrage of bullets. "Right now. Stiles, find that shooter!"

'I can't see him!'

"Look for the light right when the trigger's pulled!"

There was a slight pause as they waited for the next shot. 'Got him! You're in the clear.'

Scott got Derek to the woods where Stiles jumped up with the gun and helped him the rest of the way to the car. Scott jumped in the back as Stiles helped Derek in the front. Derek smacked his hand on Stiles to stop him.

"We have to find Sam." He said.

"She told us to get you out of here. And that's what we're going to do. Sit back."

Derek quit arguing and sat back. Stiles got in the car, started it, threw it in reverse and got the hell out of dodge.

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Kate stopped and looked around. In the midst of chasing the woman, she had lost her. How that had happened she didn't know but she was determined to figure it out.

She did a full circle, keeping her senses open to keep her alive.

Sam looked down out of the trees. Her radio had gone silent which meant the boys had done what she asked. They had Derek. If she knew Scott, he was with them but counting the minutes until he had to go out in search for her. She was determined to make this short. So she watched Kate and how she moved.

"I know you're here. I can feel it." Kate said. Sam kept perfectly still, waiting until the woman was right underneath her. "Do you know what I did to Derek after you threw him out? I beat him and tasered him then I threw him in a tub full of Wolfsbane." She waited for a response. "He's going to die if you don't get to him soon. The Wolfsbane will seep into his system then into his heart. He'll die."

Sam was counting the seconds until she jumped. Kate had already wasted her bullets when they were running in the woods. All she had now was that stupid taser. Sam had to get that thing away from her and get her into hand to hand.

Once Kate was under her, she dropped from the tree. Well, not necessarily dropped. More like kicked out. He foot connected with the back of the woman's head and the taser went flying, just as she had planned. Sam kicked the thing farther into the woods as Kate got to her feet.

"So that's where you were." Kate said. "No wonder I couldn't find you."

Within seconds she had jumped up and was charging. Sam grabbed her by the e hair, spun and slammed her into the dirt as the women on the wrestling show Stiles watched on Monday nights. Kate rolled over holding her nose. It was bleeding badly. It meant she had broken it.

"You bitch! You broke my nose!" Kate told her exactly what she already knew. She stood and wiped her bloody hand on her jeans. "I'm going to mess you up."

She flew at Sam with the insanity a rabid bear would have. Sam stayed calm and dodged every attack that came her way. The more she dodged, the angrier Kate became. She wanted to smile so bad because that would make her even angrier than she already was. It was hard to not smile. This was too much fun.

Kate punched at her face. Sam grabbed her arm, flipped her over her shoulder, and held on as she dropped to the ground and wrapped her leg around her upper body. Kate flailed like a fish out of water but there was no way to budge a woman who went dead weight. After holding her for a few moments, Sam dislocated the shoulder then rolled away as the woman screamed in agony.

"Let me tell you who I am so you can go back to your family and the Hunters and let them know. I'm Sam Grady. On the night of April the 8th nine years ago, you attacked a pack of werewolves in Burbank. I was at that house the night it went up in flames. Due an explosion I lost all my hearing. I swore I would hunt down the ones who killed my best friend and his family. Your family was that group, more specifically you. Now you come after me and Derek Hale." Sam said.

"Derek Hale is a nuisance to society. He has to be put down. He's a monster."

"The only monster I know is you."

"I'm doing these people a favor."

"No, you're not. My best guess is Derek somehow pissed you off and you decided to target him."

"It's in my family to kill him."

"No, it's not and as long as I live, I will make sure you don't bother him."

Kate had had enough of talking. She jumped up as fast as she could with the wounds she had sustained. Sam let her get a lucky shot in because she was next to the taser. When she fell, she grabbed it just as Kate walked up on her. As she jumped at her, Sam brought the taser up and connected right in her stomach at the same time she brought her knight stick to connect with her face. Kate was knocked out then and there.

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Chris Argent opened the door after someone knocked three times. He caught his sister as she was shoved at him. He saw a red head standing before him with stony eyes.

"I'm letting you know now. If you go against Derek Hale, you'll also have me to contend with." She said.

"So you're the Hunter who hunts Hunters. You're a reject." Chris spat.

"I'd rather be a reject than a Hunter who kills innocent people. And I know how to defend myself a hell of a lot better than your sister did. Your sister better train more because I know she's going to want a rematch. When she wakes up, let her know I'm ready when she is."

"Wait." Sam stopped as she was walking towards the road. "Where are the rest of my guys?"

"Lying with bullet holes in their feet. You might want to get to them."

She walked towards the road. When she heard the door shut securely, she started running. She had to get home to see about Derek. Wolfsbane was not something she wanted to mess with.

Running at a sprint, she took to the woods to get to her house faster.


	17. Chapter 17

Author's Note: I hope you liked the last chapter. It really just popped out of nowhere. I had to put Stiles in another uncomfortable circumstance to make it work.

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Derek growled in pain as Scott and Stiles tried to help him get out of his clothes. They were drenched in Wolfsbane water and that was eating at his skin.

"I hope I don't have to cut his legs off. That would really hinder his romance with Sam." Stiles said.

Scott looked up at his best friend. "Really? You're thinking about Sam at a time like this?"

"They're sleeping together. She might be mad when he can't….you know." Derek growled again. Whether it was from pain, frustration, anger, or all three they couldn't tell. "Okay! I'm done talking."

They successfully got his jeans off. Stiles went into the bathroom to run some cool water while Scott worked to get Derek in the bathroom. Both boys had to work together to get the naked werewolf in the tub. If it wasn't a serious situation, both would be embarrassed but this was their friend they were trying to help. Derek let out a literal sigh as the water began to seep into his skin.

"This is getting too hard. Sam needs to get home soon." Stiles said.

"I know." He checked his phone for the time. "I have to leave in a few minutes if she's not back."

"This isn't good, Scott. I took out two guys tonight with a sniper rifle and it felt good."

"We didn't have a choice. We couldn't let her go alone."

"I know."

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Sam stood outside her house with her video phone. She didn't want to go inside yet. So she made a call.

When the person on the other side picked up and she saw her face, she smiled. "Hey, Catherine."

'Sam! It's so good to hear from you. How are you?'

"I'm good. I have something to tell you. I found the person who killed Everett."

The woman on the other end smiled sadly. 'You didn't have to do that, Sam.'

"Yes, I did. I was there that night and I was the only one to survive. I had to find his killer."

'Did you take care of him or her?'

"Yes, I did. She won't come after you anymore."

The other woman smiled. 'Thank you, Sam. My son would be happy to know he had a friend like you.'

Sam smiled as well. "Thank you. I got to go."

'Okay. Call me soon. It's been too long. Tell your dad I said hi.'

"I will."

She hung up and looked at her house. Derek was in there hurting and she really didn't want to go in there because he would probably yell at her.

"Screw it." She walked up to her house and in the door.

There was a howl from her bedroom bathroom. She felt the vibrations through the walls. She dropped her gear to the couch and walked in the room. Scott and Stiles were trying to hold Derek in the shower as they meticulously cleaned him off. Sam stood in the doorway and looked over the pocketed skin on Derek's legs.

"Derek, stop. We're trying to help you." Scott said.

"Let me help."

"Sam. Oh, thank God."

Sam took Derek's head and forced him to look at her. "Derek, you have to let them help you."

Derek stared at her for a moment before his eyes went from golden to green. He stared at her for another moment before he passed out in her arms. Scott and Stiles helped dry him off and together they all hefted him to the bed.

"We'll let him sleep it off. You should get home." Sam said.

"Yeah. Call us if you need anything." Scott said.

"I will. Be careful." Scott and Stiles hugged her before walking out the back door. She turned off all the lights and walked into the bedroom.

Derek was far from peaceful and that made Sam cry. He was trying to protect her and she drove him away. There was nothing she would regret more if something had happened to him. She buried her head in his chest.

"You're not as pretty when you cry." Her head shot up. She had felt the vibrations in his chest as he spoke. He was looking at her with half lidded eyes. "You're back."

"Yeah. I'm back. Are you okay?"

"I'll be fine in the morning. What did you do?"

She smiled. "I put Stiles on sniper duty and Scott on med and rescue duty while I took on Kate."

"You didn't kill her did you?"

"No. She's safe back at her brother's. She's going to have a hell of a time coming after you."

"What'd you do?"

Sam smiled sadistically. "Nothing much besides break her nose, dislocate her shoulder and taser her."

Derek laughed. "Always the inventive one."

"I wasn't going to kill her, Derek. I wasn't going to give her the same courtesy she gave your family or mine. She's not that special. I want her to remember who gave her that beating."

"She won't forget." He patted her side of the bed. "Get in. we'll talk later."

Sam did as he asked. They were comfortable again so he fell asleep, safe and sound in his bed.


	18. Chapter 18

**Author's Note**: This is the end of the story. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I have enjoyed writing it. Leave good reviews please!

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**THREE MONTHS LATER**

Scott and Stiles sat on the bench during their lacrosse game. Their grades had dropped and they had been benched. They couldn't tell their teachers that they had been fighting werewolf Hunters and looking for an alpha so they kept their mouths shut and sat on the bench.

Scott looked into the stand. He saw his mom. She smiled at him and waved. The next person he found was Allison. She was in the front row watching intently. Her smile was as warm as ever. They were still going strong, even after Sam had dropped Kate off with a bundle of work to be done on her. Allison still didn't know it was his friend that had beat her aunt to a pulp and he wasn't going to tell.

"Look at the top." Stiles whispered in his ear.

Scott turned his gaze to the top. Sam and Derek sat in their normal spot. They had been MIA for the last few weeks and Scott assumed it was to go see Sam's father. They had been talking about it after Derek was healed from his Wolfsbane wounds. Derek had promised to take her. When the boys swung by the Hale Manor where they now lived, there was note addressed to them on the door. Apparently they had returned in the last day or two.

Their team won, which was no surprise, and the fans flooded the field. Scott and Stiles hugged their families before finding Sam and Derek near the exit. Allison suddenly squealed.

"How long?" she asked Sam.

Sam smiled and looked up at Derek. "Four months."

"Is it a boy or a girl?"

"We don't know."

"Whoa. Wait a second. What's going on?" Stiles asked.

Scott frowned as he looked at his friend. "All those months of you cracking jokes about Derek and you have no clue what Sam and Allison are talking about?"

Stiles looked at him blankly. "No, what are they talking about?"

"Stiles," Allison said very gently, "Sam is having a baby."

That shook the boy. "A baby? Derek, you dog." Derek frowned, making the plans of his face go hard. "No pun intended. But seriously. A baby! That's great!"

"I say we go out and celebrate."

"I agree. We just have to tell our parents."

The three teens disappeared, leaving the two adults alone.

Derek wrapped his arms around Sam and pulled her to him. "Have I told you lately that I love you?"

She laughed. "Nice use of a song. And yes, you did about two hours ago."

"Well, I'll say it again. I love you, Sam Grady."

"Ditto, Derek."

"Now who's using pop culture?" When she smiled, he kissed her.

"Seems like the two of you are better." They looked up at Chris Argent and Kate. Sam bit her lip to keep from laughing. "You're still not safe."

"You come after my family and I'll kill you." Derek said. He had almost lost Sam once to their hands and she had almost lost him. It wasn't happening again, especially with a baby on the way.

"Right now I'm not concerned with your little ragtag family."

"Good, because your sister knows what happens when she messes with me." Sam said. She smiled sweetly at Kate. The other woman scowled in return.

"Dad," Allison said as she, Scott and Stiles showed up. "I'm going with them okay?"

Chris looked at Derek and Sam before back at his daughter. "Okay. Be home by eleven."

"Okay." Allison kissed him before walking away with the two boys.

The protective dad looked at the werewolf and his girlfriend. "You take care of her."

"We will." The Argents walked away, leaving them alone with the kids. "I don't think he likes us very well."

Derek looked at Sam. "Do you blame him? I get away from him and you beat up his sister."

"Well, we won't harm his daughter because I'm pretty sure Scott won't talk to me ever again if I do."

"Sam! Derek! Come on! I'm starving!" Stiles called.

"It seems we're being summoned."

"So it seems. Let's go." He took her hand and walked over to their friends.

Everybody was talking up a storm about the new baby. They all had a silent agreement about making sure no one knew what they had done. That's the way they were going to keep it.

END


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